7 Horns 7 Eyes - Throes Of AbsolutionProgressive death metal with some djenty and coreish sounding parts. Has a pretty unique atmosphere for this kind of music. I'm also vaguely acquainted with their vocalist on the internet, so as a bro, I must tell you to go out and by their stuff. One question still bugs me though-Do they mosh 4 christ???

3.

Abigail Williams - BecomingDisliked this at first for whatever reason. Listening again reveals a fairly unique slightly doomy atmospheric black metal album. Hopping on the whole WIITR/cascadian black metal/whatever you want to call it trend, but doing a fine job of it. The song lengths could have been shortened though.

4.

Abiotic - SymbiosisTech deathcore, one of the better tech death albums of the year. Don't worry about the deathcore label; while there is a lot of chugging here, there's usually plenty of nifty technical guitar lines over them.

Aborted - Global FlatlineShits fuckin BRUTAL bro! Apparently these guys went through a phase where they experimented with -core sounds, but there's no trace of that here. Fairly technical, slightly grindy, never relenting, death fucking metal.

7.

Accept - StalingradIt's Accept. You know what it sounds like. Yes it is just as good as you would expect.

8.

Ahab - The GiantStarting to throw in some post metal here, and it works out just fine.

Alcest - Les Voyages de l'ÂmeAt first I thought that this was a very good album, not quite as good as Ecailles, but not artificial and fake like others were saying. Repeated listening's however have, unfortunately, proven the detractors to be partially right.

11.

Allegaeon - FormshifterMelodeath with sufficient technicality and heaviness to appease those who don't normally like that stuff (like me).

Art By Numbers - On the contrary, this is not at all by the numbers. The closest comparison would be a combination of Periphery and The Human Abstract, but this band already has a unique sound. Very solid album, and seeing as this is their debut, it will likely only get better.

Aura Noir - Out To DieThought it was average at first, now I think it's bitchin sweet. If you like black/thrash as much as I do, listen to this.

19.

Baroness - Yellow & GreenHighly anticipated for me, it is ever so slightly not as good as I was hoping, due to having a small amount of heavy songs and a bit too much acoustic meandering, but it is without a doubt an excellent album and a highlight of the year.

Before The Dawn - Rise Of The PhoenixMelodeath with some doom elements. Really shouldn't like this stuff, melodeath and melodoom both generally bore me to tears, but this album has a certain charm to it that makes it so much more enjoyable than similar bands.

23.

Be'lakor - Of Breath And BoneEverybody's heard this album, you don't need a description. Really good melodeath, without much death at all.

Bloodshot Dawn - Bloodshot DawnReally good thrashy melodeath, the guitar leads in particular are really nice. Keep an eye out for these bros, they may go places.

29.

Borknagar - UrdI remember this band being underwhelming in the past, and never looked much into them. Well throw me in a river and call me Chuck Hilligans, because this is the finest black metal album I've heard in quite some time. Very seldom do I actually get sucked into "majestic beautiful" atmosphere, but this album is good enough to make me do such.

30.

Brendon Small - GalaktikonThe creator of Metalocalypse and Dethklok released this album which is a far cry from Dethklok. Actually, it's quite unlike anything I've heard. Doesn't fit into one genre at all, which is a good thing. Great album, check it the fuck out.

Call Me No One - Last ParadeRadio hard rock, far superior to most other stuff of it's kind.

33.

Candlemass - Psalms For The DeadI'm not very well versed in Candlemass despite liking classic doom metal, but just knowing that this band has been around for 30 years, this is an impressive album. A solid smattering of doom and gloom.

34.

Cannibal Corpse - TortureEverybody calls Cannibal Corpse generic death metal, but I've yet to hear a band that successfully imitates their sound. They always have the perfect blend of technicality, brutality, thrashiness (perfectly straddling the line between old school heavily thrashy death metal and brutal death metal) and catchieness (not a word no fucks given) and deserve their status as one of the definitive death metal bands.

Chopstick Suicide - Lost Fathers And SonsThis is some really weired experimental semi post grindcoreish (yeah, I know) stuff, but it's also really good. Mixes harsh vocals with clean vocals, but not in the mainstream metalcore sense. I can't explain this, go listen to it and enjoy it.

40.

Christian Mistress - PossessionPure old school heavy metal done right. The only thing surprising about it is that something sounding like this can exist in 2012.

Devin Townsend - EpicloudI can't get into this too much. Its not that its too poppy, its that its just not catchy enough pop.

48.

Diablo Swing Orchestra - Pandora's PiñataIt's DSO, so you won't mistake it for anybody else, but it's not a rehash of their older stuff either. There is absolutely no other band like DSO, and everything they put out is worth hearing for that reason alone. Also helps that they're really good.

Eluveitie - HelvetiosLess melodeathy than I remember them being, but pretty charming. Could be shortened a bit, 17 songs (basically 16, one of them is 24 seconds long) is a bit of an overkill, but they're all short, sweet, and to the point.

54.

Emmure - Slave To The GameEmmure's first four albums are basically the worst albums ever, but Speaker Of The Dead somehow managed to be tolerable, mainly be adding in a dose of nu metal onto their deathcore/moshcore sound, and focusing on making the album as stupid and catchy as possible. This album continues in that direction. It is stupid, and literally nothing but breakdowns, but it manages to be much more tolerable than you 2007 style deathcore bands that I ranted about in the Impending Doom description. Plus, the song Protoman is actually... *gulp*... Good...

Epica - Requiem For The IndifferentLighter and more melodic than Design Your Universe, and not quite as good, but a solid offering from one of the few female fronted symphonic metal bands worth listening to.

Fisthammer - Devour All You SeeHere's a band that deserves more attention than they've gotten. Excellent death metal with melody, not to be confused with melodeath. Only negative is the vocals, which sound like Nathan Explosion-not particularly good.

Gojira - L'enfant SauvageNot sure what to make of this... Not as good as From Mars To Sirus, different for sure...

64.

Gorod - A Perfect AbsolutionThis is a really good year for death metal, and this album no exceptation. Melodic at times, chaotic at times, technical, heavy, just really good all around.

65.

Gory Blister - Earth-SickThese guys can do no wrong, and it's a shame that they aren't more popular. This is just a great year for death metal, and although these guys aren't offering anything particularly new (although not generic by any means), they do it damn good.

High On Fire - De Vermis MysteriisControversial Opinion time-I'm not much of a fan of these guys. Can't say why, just never got into them. This however, falls under my much overused category of Bitchin Sweet ™. Not a big enough fan of stoner metal to make any comparisons to any other band, but this is probably way better than pretty much everything else.

69.

Hour Of Penance - SeditionTechnical brutal death metal without any of that "weedily wee" stuff that bands like Spawn Of Possession use-not that there's a problem with weedily riffs or anything.

Impiety - Ravage And ConquerGood enough black/death/thrash, but really not much more than that. Fans of the band won't be disappointed for sure.

72.

I See Stars - I originally listened to this album because I wanted to bash it, but it turns out that I like it. It's pop rock, trancecore, crabcore, and every other post 2007 scene trend, and it's ghey as fuck, but I kinda like it. :(

73.

Impending Doom - Baptized In FilthThe 2007 style of generic tremolo/chug riff, breakdown, repeated till you want to kill somebody seems to be basically dead, and the bands that formally played that style are finally starting to get some sort of unique identity. This album is very chug happy, but in a more djenty/groove metal way, and are generally of good quality. Of course, it's still deathcore, which by default means that there's still way to much chugging. But hey, it's what the kids want...

74.

Jeff Loomis - Plains Of OblivionWow. I haven't really listened to Nevermore aside from a few songs a year ago, but if it's anywhere near as good as this, then I need to check them out. The riffs in this album are great of course, not horribly unique but enjoyable, but HOLY SHIT THOSE GUITAR SOLOS! Jeff Loomis has got to be among the finest guitarists out there, playing incredibly fast shredding solos that are practically composed as songs themselves-and damn good songs as well. Plus, with both Marty Friedman and Chris Poland from Megadeth featuring on this album, underrated shredder Tony MacAlpine, and Ishan on vocals, how could this not be incredible?

75.

Job For A Cowboy - DemonocracyQuite a far cry from their horrible deathcore days. This is a great tech death album, with a much better sense of songwriting than most of their peers.

Kreator - Phantom AntichristThe most melodeathy album I've heard by them (haven't heard their 90's stuff) and slower as well, but keeps up the quality that we all expect.

79.

Lacuna Coil - Dark AdrenalineAnother band that I'm not well versed in. Apparently this album along with their previous two albums are vastly inferior to their first three? If so, then they must have been an amazing band in the past, as this is very enjoyable pop rock/nu metal, as impossible as that sounds.

80.

Lamb Of God - ResolutionEvery song on here is good, but it gets repetitive fast and becomes a chore to listen to from front to back

Make Me Famous - It's Now Or NeverHonestly, I only listened to this because I felt bad about putting Boxcar's album at the bottom. So cheer up, you're better than a band signed to a fairly large label!

Meshuggah - KolossIt's Meshuggah. You know what it sounds like. More similar to the slower sound of Nothing than any other of their albums, and seems slightly more accessible than the rest of their albums, but it's just as good as the previous ones.

Napalm Death - UtilitarianThis album will eat your cunt out and pound it with the force of an army of elephants using jackhammers as pogo sticks. Vicious.

97.

Nekromantheon - Rise, Vulcan SpectreMorbid Saint in the 21st century. Loved it at first, got old fast, now I love it again... Fuck it, this is too good to not have a high position.

98.

Nile - At The Gate Of SethuFor this album, Nile abandoned their death metal roots and decided to go for an acoustic dreampop sound. Nah, not really, this is just what you'd expect from these fellows, and it delivers.

Overkill - The Electric AgeMy most anticipated album of the year. I was skeptical about whether or not it would beat the new Cannibal Corpse and Napalm Death albums. Luckily, it's everything I hoped for and more. Not as good as Ironbound, but enough to maintain Overkill's position as the best thrash band around.

Running Wild - ShadowmakerWell here's a dissapointment. Pretty standard heavy/speed metal from a band that is capable of far better.

117.

Rush - Clockwork AngelsI haven't listened to Rush very much, aside from the obvious radio singles that everybody knows, but this album may change that. I had no idea that Rush could get so heavy. Not that this really all that heavy for metal standards, but it is for mainstream rock standards, which a band as big as Rush most definitely falls into. Not that that has anything to do with the quality. What does matter is that this is a very enjoyable progressive rock/metal album, keeping with the weirdness that Rush is known for, but not going too far out of their comfort zone, like another 40 year old metal band did recently...

118.

Savage Messiah - Plague Of ConscienceWell written and well performed, but not as strong as it could be. The riffs seem fairly stock and watered down, and the catchy, "epic" power metal side that could make up for the somewhat weak riffs isn't emphasized enough. If either the thrash or power metal side were emphasized more, this would be a much better listen. Still, despite these criticisms, it is pretty enjoyable.

Shinedown - AmaryllisHard rock/radio rock, a style I'm not well versed in. Being not well versed in the style, I can't compare it to other albums in the style, but I do know that this is a lot better than a band like Nickelback. Catchy, sufficiently heavy, and just a good listen all around.

121.

Six Feet Under - UndeadWoah. Everything by SFU that I've heard prior to this has been total shit, but this is seriously good midpaced oldschool styled death metal. Chris Barnes isn't a particularly good vocalist, but with these riffs, who cares?

Somber Eyes - DeadwoodA one man folkish/doom metal band by Metalstorm's own BoxCar Willy. Not particularly good, seeing as it's by a 15 year old kid, but props to him for making it, and best of luck for future endeavors. But seriously bro, you need a lot of work.

Storm Corrosion - Michael Akerfeldt and Steve Wilson's acoustic prog rock album. I have no experience in this type of music and don't know how to compare it to metal albums. It's long winded and repetitive, but has a really strange dark charm to it that makes me keep wanting to listen to it.

The Contortionist - Going softer here while still keeping in touch with their progressive deathcore/djent roots.

133.

The Faceless - AuthotheismDaayum boi, this is pretty intense stuff. As technical as you would expect, but with a heavy emphasis on Devin Townsend clean vocals, and in general a more memorable vibe. Surpasses Planetary Duality in every way.

134.

Thy Art Is Murder - HateTech death with breakdowns. The breakdowns get a little annoying but its a good album if you like the style.

Van Halen - A Different Kind Of TruthMaybe my initial negative thoughts of Tattoo were partially due to it's horrible video and lyrics? It actually sounded good when I listened to it here, and luckily for us is among the worse songs on the album. This is so much better than I thought it would be, mainly because I thought that it would be in the bottom ten, but this is really good and catchy hard rock. Lee Roth isn't as good as he was in his prime, but as a whole the band has aged remarkably well. Seriously, some of the songs here are borderline speed metal. Huge surprise in quality, and proof that old bands can still do great things.

147.

Veil Of Maya - EclipseOne of the few deathcore bands that I can fully back. Still would be much better if they used chugs more sparingly, they're technical riffs are pretty darn good.

148.

Whitechapel - WhitechapelThis is such a huge improvement over their past albums. They've pretty much gone full on death metal, with just enough deathcore chugging thrown in to make it stand out a bit. Throw in the new Impending Doom not sucking and Emmure having some sort of improvement, it seems that deathcore may wind up not having been a complete failure after all.

149.

Wintersun - Time 1OMG BEST ALBUM EVER SRS THIS WAS WORTH THE WAIT FUCKING AMAZING!!!!!!!!!

150.

Wodesnthrone - CurseBest black metal album I've heard this year, and can't imagine any other album beating it.

LC literally fucked up after Comalies and to be honest that album is insanely good. Dark Adrenaline is a decent output but it could have been fucking better. Btw good too see in your "scientifically accurate stuff".

Perhaps, but it does make for vivid imagery. It's quite easy to imagine a construction site with a bunch of elephants wearing hard hats using jackhammers as pogo sticks. However, I am considering the use of giant tortoises and hippos for future animal metaphors. I.E "This album is as slow and heavy as an army of tortoises walking to the moon".

Perhaps, but it does make for vivid imagery. It's quite easy to imagine a construction site with a bunch of elephants wearing hard hats using jackhammers as pogo sticks. However, I am considering the use of giant tortoises and hippos for future animal metaphors. I.E "This album is as slow and heavy as an army of tortoises walking to the moon".

Agree with everything here. Animals allow for so much metaphorical clarity, and food also. Just think... This guitar tone is as salty as a KFC double down? Hell yes.

Also, Void Eater, lol'd at the description for the Suicidal Angels album

Cool list, I see a lot of ours coincide. While I didn't put Cannibal Corpse quite as high, I agree with what you said. They have their own sound, straightforward as it is. I think this new album is a great showcase of that, despite not being anything too different from their other material.

Sludgey doom metal isn't really my thing, and I like Veil Of Maya a lot, so there's that. They're both really good albums, but I can't see myself listening to them very often. @Boxcar, I felt bad about putting your album at the bottom. So for at least making a genuine effort to make good music, you get placed above a band that says in their fucking name that all they want is to be famous.

@Boxcar, I felt bad about putting your album at the bottom. So for at least making a genuine effort to make good music, you get placed above a band that says in their fucking name that all they want is to be famous.

I know, i can feel it! BoxCar Willy(Huotari) is talentless with his/her somber eyes thing.
I think this guy wanna waste his/her time because he or she is very busy at this somber eyes mania.
Hahaha! I don't wanna convince the listeners but i think every music fan can rate BoxCar Willy lame, boring noises.

Hey Void considering you went Alphabetica on us you might wanna change the description for Xandria (just the part about a "high" ranking)

I thought about it, but realized that keeping mentions of ratings makes it look mysterious. Like, "Ooh, what are these ratings he's talking about, I don't know, that Void Eater sure is one sexy mufucka!"

I thought about it, but realized that keeping mentions of ratings makes it look mysterious. Like, "Ooh, what are these ratings he's talking about, I don't know, that Void Eater sure is one sexy mufucka!"

That's true, despite making little sense when I read it the description for the Xandria album did manage to give me a boner.

I remember hearing one song off of it when it first came out, thinking "damn, this is really good, I need to listen the whole thing!" And then I probably just listened to Overkill again and forgot about it. Will be next on my listen to list though.